Chapter Thirteen
The tycoon and the Captain – discussions – a disagreement – money – the Captain alone – reading material
The study smelled of mahogany and furniture polish, leather, and old paper. Most important, though, it smelled of money. Not the smell of currency, exactly. Coins and banknotes pass through the hands of butchers, fishwives, and tanners until they smell of a little of everything and not much of anything. Money though, actual wealth—that has a scent.
The Captain breathed in its rich aroma, contemptuous of it and yet captivated by it. Did the owner of the office still smell it? Perhaps the old man was too used to it, like a stableboy who only notices the smell of horses when it is absent. After all, the man behind the desk was Lord Grimsdale, supposedly the richest man
